Flynn Into the Woods
by Whytegriffin
Summary: So, this all started with the meme floating around the Internet saying "Plot twist: Flynn a Rider ends up in Narnia" it's not my fault! After being shoved into the closet by Rapunzel, Flynn finds himself in another land with dryads, nyads, and a talking Lion, one who has charged him to save a princess from an evil woman who may not have been unaware of the wardrobes properties
1. Chapter 1

"Well, how shall I paint this old wardrobe?" Rapunzel sighed dismally to herself. Mother had shut her down. Again. She was afraid that she was never going to get out of that tower, never going to see where the floating lights came from, which was all that she really wanted to see anyway. Pascal grunted and shrugged. He didn't care at the moment. He was tired of Rapunzel's mother and he was regretting those five cookies - Rapunzel had only seen him take one. She would never have let him eat five. Maybe it was just as well that Gothel had said no, because in this state he couldn't move a muscle. Oh well, at this rate Rapunzel wasn't going anywhere. Ever. Above him Rapunzel gasped. "Pascal, do you hear that?" She hissed. Pascal arched his back and rolled his eyes. What? There was nothing to - there was someone grunting outside of the window, someone who did not sound like Rapunzel's mother. He didn't even notice Rapunzel get up and run to the kitchen, grabbing a frying pan. She tiptoed to the window, standing out of plain sight. Whoever was coming was almost to the top. Rapunzel waved her hand at the chameleon and he immediately chamouflaged himself with the floor. More heavy breathing and gasping, and - Rapunzel had never heard a voice that deep before. It must be a - a man. He leapt in through the window and slammed the shutters behind him. He was so tall, and his hair seemed so short, and his shoulders were so broad - Rapunzel wasn't about to wait to judge him from the front. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alone at last." He said. That's what you think. Said Rapunzel to herself, hefting her frying pan and whaling him in the head with it. She didn't see the ridiculous look on his face as he dropped. She squeaked and ran for the nearest cover - just in case that hadn't been quite enough. He didn't move. She cautiously stepped forward and nudged his head with the frying pan. No reaction. Rapunzel looked to Pascal for guideance, but her chameleon friend merely shrugged. Rapunzel let out a sigh and tipped his head to the side. His face was - quite a nice shape. To Pascal again, who pattered to Gothel's crude floor art and illustrated that she should make sure he didn't have pointy teeth. Rapunzel used the handle to lift up his lip - but there were no pointy teeth. Could mother be wrong? Now she was curious. She flipped back the tail of hair that covered his left eye and gasped softly. He was - just - quite - wow. And beautiful. Rapunzel would love to draw that face! Just then he moaned and opened his eyes in shock. Rapunzel gasped and brought her weapon right back down on his head.

Had that killed him? It didn't look like it, but he was breathing kind of funny. Rapunzel rolled her eyes and draped her hair over him, singing the song absently as she looked for a place to hide the stranger. With mother surprise always seemed to be the best strategy. Now if she could open a door and let him step out - or fall out - to show mother that she could handle herself - the wardrobe, of course! Now, how to get him in... She tied her hair under his arms and dragged him toward it.

Oof, she hadn't realize that he would be this heavy! Ugh. How -(huff)- far -(huff)- was it - to that wardrobe - oh. Rapunzel leaned against the doors for a minute to catch her breath. Now - how was she going to get him in there? She unwrapped the stranger and looked from him to the closet and back. Maybe if she pushed him in fast enough? Worth a shot. He was already flipped over from Rapunzel moving her hair so she grabbed his boots and tried to push him in. No. Too far up. She should have known better. She looped her hair over one of the rafters and tied the end under his arms again. Then she climbed up into the rafters and tried swinging him into the closet. Yes! Yes, it worked...but her hair was stuck inside. Ugh! Strangers were more trouble then they were worth. What next? She wondered, leaning deafeatedly against the doors. When she opened the doors he fell out again. Great. Rapunzel tried to salvage the fall by shoving him back, but his arms and legs were in the way - and he was upside down. He was quite the heavy sleeper. She shoved him in enough to turn him around, but he wouldn't stay that way. Too long. She grunted and pushed and shoved his face up and finally shut the door. Well! That was that. Simple enough - until he fell forward, opening the doors and squashing her. Ugh, this was getting old! Rapunzel worked herself out from under the stranger, grabbed the broom and used it to shove him back into the closet. Finally he was in - Rapunzel slammed the doors shut, and this time they stayed! Good. Now she was ready - oooh. His fingers were slammed in the door. That had to hurt, but she wasn't about to risk him falling out again. Maybe if she just poked them back inside...he should be fine. Just to be safe, she grabbed her arm chair and jammed the doors shut with it. Now lets see him get out! Now...let the panic settle. She had just done what?!

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. I've got a person in my closet. I've got a person in my closet... I've got a person in my closet! Haha. Too weak to handle myself, huh, mother?" She rehearsed to herself in the mirror, dusting off her faithful frying pan. "Well! Just tell that to my frying pa- owe!" Note to self, do not spin frying on your finger. As she rubbed her forehead she saw in the mirror that the thief's satchel had fallen open, and something was sparkling inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Flynn groaned softly and tried to flex his fingers. Why on earth did he feel so sore? Something had hit him from behind and his head - actually didn't hurt. That was odd since his arms and back and especially his fingers felt like he had been slammed in a door several times. Where was he? Going by the rod across the top of his prison, the fabric hanging from it and the hooks on the walls he must be in someone's closet. He heard a voice outside of the doors. A young woman. Great. And his satchel was missing. Even better. Flynn frowned and rubbed his face. What the heck was he going to do now? Maybe he could pry the boards in the back loose and sneak out that way as long as it wasn't too tight against the wall. Flynn reached back through the clothes and found more. Big closet. Well, he hadn't had much time to really look the place over, and if this was a woman's closet then the size wasn't remarkable at all. He kept going. A third row? Now this was getting a little crazy. Was this some lady's stash of over-priced ball gowns for a rainy day or...ouche! That wasn't fabric. Flynn thought he knew what it felt like, but was it really what he thought? He reached forward again and he picked up a clean, fresh scent. Pine needles? There were no pine trees in the forest, let alone in this little canyon; he would have noticed a seventy-plus-foot tall pine tree he. Suddenly Flynn stepped out into sunlight and his jaw dropped open. This was nowhere near to the tower that he had climbed - nowhere anywhere near Corona, for that matter! The trees weren't very big, the forest looked young yet. Was he in another kingdom? And if he was...hoooowwww did he get there? He just knew that he hadn't been out for that long, he wasn't even hungry, let alone starved like he should have been If he had been transported several miles. This was like nowhere that he had ever seen. There was something different about this place. It seemed more fresh, more alive. It was almost like...even though it was crazy...it was like he was in a different world. Maybe he was insane, or maybe he was still passed out and he was in a strange dream. He couldn't tell. Flynn shrugged to himself and started sidling off into the woods. Suddenly he stopped. He thought he had heard...no, once again that was insane...but no, he had heard it. A rich, low voice singing like a brook rippling over stones. It was beautiful and unearthly. Had he believed in fairies or anything like that, well, the first thing that came into his head when he heard the voice was the tales of water nymphs in fairy tales that he once read. As suddenly as it had started the voice died away, and Flynn started walking again; slowly and trying to keep himself hidden behind the trees. On the off chance that he was mistaken and he had visited this kingdom before, whatever it was, he was sure that such a trip must have been memorable for its people. The forest seemed uninhabbited, but that didn't mean that it was. The tower should have been empty too.

"Hello." Flynn froze and turned quickly to see a young willow tree behind him. A second later he realized that it had a smiling face, and the next second he saw a young girl standing behind him. "Hello." She repeated herself. "I've never seen you in my wood before."

"Well I uh - I really don't think I've been here before."

"Are you one of the King's men? You don't look like a Narnian."

" King's men? Never. What's a Narnian?"

"Well, I'm a Narnian, but I am not a daughter of Eve as the king and his wife and his men are. I am of this world. If you do not understand that then you are clearly not from here." She giggled, swishing around him. Suddenly she was behind him and suddenly again she was before him. "I am Nera. What is your name?"

"Uh F-Flynn Rider."

"Strange name. What brought you into Narnia?"

"I - don't know. Look, this is pretty crazy. Am I dreaming?"

"Dreaming? Why would you be?"

"Um, because you're a...a..."

"Wood nymph. Of course I am, why should that surprise you? I was just singing with my friend the nyad."

"Those aren't real."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I - I have to go." Flynn mumbled, backing up and stumbling over every root and brush in his path.

"Where? You don't seem to know your way."

"Somewhere...back?"

"Back where?"

"To Corona."

"Corona?"

"Yeah."

"Your country?"

"Uhuh." Flynn sputtered.

"Who are you visiting here in Narnia?"

"No one!" He snapped, tripping again. He tried to get up, but this time his foot was caught in a tree root. "Listen, it was an accident." he continued, frantically trying to free himself. "I have no idea what I'm doing here, so if you could just show me...the way...back..." He grunted the last words as his boot finally came free. But when he looked up, the tree girl suddenly had quite a different expression on her face.

"When people came to Narnia before who were not of our world some were good, but others quite wicked. I do not think that He would have let you come into Narnia without some great purpose."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"The Son of the Emperor beyond the sea. Aslan Himself."

"Oh no. I am not meeting with the son of some king. Talk about having a death wish. Look, it's been - uhh - great talking, but I have to go. I really really have to go back and get -"

"What, son Adam?" Flynn heard the voice, deep and beautiful and terrible all at once before he realized that it had come from a lion. But because he was so suddenly scared stiff at the sight of what he thought must be a terrible wild beast he did not even see straight away that the Lion's lips were moving. Flynn spread his arms out protectively and somehow forced himself to turn his head. He was gong to tell the tree girl to run, but she was nowhere to be seen, although he suddenly thought that he could hear her laughter in the leaves above his head. "Who are you fleeing that you fear the son of a king? What is it that you must return to your own world to fetch?" The deep velvet voice continued.

"Not...not fetch, sir." Flynn stammered. Sir? He never called anyone sir, much less a lion! "I just...I have to go back, I don't belong here."

"You are right to say that you do not belong here. One man who steals from another can have no place in my Kingdom."

"I don't want a place in your kingdom. I want to go back where I came from."

"I want that for you as well, son of Adam, though I doubt much that we are thinking of the same places; but what is done is done. There can be no going back."

"But you just said-" Flynn started and then stopped. A talking lion was confusing enough. What he was saying made even less sense. The Lion smiled and continued. "I will show you the way back to your world, but before that I have three tasks for you."

"Of...course." He studdered again.

"The time is coming and is near. You must go back to your world quickly and rescue a princess. But you must bring her here with you."

"Wait wait wait. Stop right there. I don't rescue people."

"Don't you? You just tried to protect the dryad from me when you thought me to be a beast."

"That...that has nothing to do with it."

"Doesn't it? Does it not show the lingering of virtue hidden in your heart?"

"I don't have anything like that." Flynn boasted.

"Because you are a thief?"

"I barely have time to look after myself, I can't waste my time looking out for other people too - and what makes you think that I'm a thief?"

"Then your time is worthless." The Lion admonished him, ignoring the question. "You have acquired very little merit in your life, Eugene Fitzherbert." The cocky look on Flynn's face fell away and his arms uncrossed themselves, dropping to his sides like wet noodles.

"How do you know my name?" He gasped.

"I have known you from the first moment of your existence, young one. I have watched you and formed you, and many times you have run from me. And now what you started as an evil I will turn into a greater good."

"Evil? Look, I've never done anything-"

"You stole an item of great price, wicked enough in its own right, but with it you have stolen the hopes and dreams of a destitute mother and father and of a whole people."

"Incompetent people." Eugene grunted.

"But a people nevertheless. Do you think, Eugene Fitzherbert, that this king and queen are not so different from yourself?"

"Phh, yeah. They have a kingdom and a palace, servants -"

"But no family. Their child, the only child that they were capable of having, was taken unjustly from them, just as your family was taken from you."

"If you know so much about it then why didn't you stop it?" Eugene snapped bitterly. He immediately felt guilty for talking to this Lion in such a way. Who did he think himself, snapping rudely to a - someone that made him wonder so, that inspired awe, and dread and courage and hope with His very breath and speech, with His very un-animal eyes.

"Because I give you the will to choose, a right that I can not take from you without turning you into dumb animals. But from the will of the wicked I will raise men from the dust and bring them to a far greater glory then I had planned for them in ages before." Eugene swallowed hard and nodded.

"Then what do you want of me, sir? You said that there are three tasks."

"You will go through these woods here, I will send the dryad to be your guide, and you must bring a princess back here with you."

"But how will I get-"

"Take her by the hand and lead her, because she is in grave danger."

"I don't know where this princess is."

"It is she who sent you here."

"I - Well, actually I didn't see anyone. Everything went black all of the sudden and then I was in a closet that led out to here. Maybe I'm dreaming. Or drunk. That would explain why I'm talking to a lion."

"I assure you that you are indeed talking to a lion. In Narnia it is no greater thing than talking to a man in your world. The princess doesn't know much about the world outside of her, but she knows much wickedness, a wickedness that has come many times into this land. A wickedness that you must route out. Will you accept?"

"Yes, sir." There was that sir again.

"You will know your tasks by three signs. You are neither the first nor the last whom I will test in this way."

"But what-"

"The first sign is this; When she first sets foot in Narnia, she will meet an old and dear friend."

"How?" Flynn interrupted while the Lion had paused for only a moment. "Has she been here before?"

"It is no affair of yours, Eugene," the thief cringed when the Lion used that name. "But she has not. She will know this friend none the less for she knew him once, long ago. The princess must speak to this friend immediately, for what he can tell you will serve to help you on this quest."

"Sir, how can she be a princess? I climbed into What I thought was a deserted tower."

"Was it so deserted? But listen well, son of Adam. You will listen and repeat these signs until you know them. The second is this. You shall journey South with her until you have at last come upon my people." Flynn stood there staring at the Lion, still not sure if this was real. How could a Lion be talking to him? Who on God's green earth - or 'Narnia' apparently, were this lion's people? How would he go South when he didn't even know where South was in this land? What if it was the complete opposite of back home, or even worse just all twisty? Flynn of course realized that this was the worse case scenario, but it did not stop him from thinking about it. "The third is this." The lion said continued, having waited for Flynn's thought pattern to slow down a bit. "When at last you have reached there, your only hope will be that asked in the name of Aslan." Aslan. That was new. Who was Aslan? What is this all about, Flynn kept wondering. "In this way I have given you a quest to save many inhabitants of Narnia from a dread fate indeed."

"Who are these Narnians?"

"You have met one in the dryad. Most of those you will meet are birds and beasts."

"What?!"

"They are not dumb beasts, son of Adam. Some of them are wiser than you. I say some, for without the foolishness of many others there would be no need for your help."

"I don't understand."

"In time enough, son of Adam, you will understand. But be warned. A great evil will pursue you even into Narnia and drive you into temptation. Be strong against it, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"But why can't you just stop it?"

"I love you too much to turn any one of you into a dumb beast, son of Adam. Now. The day is getting on. Repeat the signs to me, Eugene." Flynn opened his mouth, stuttering. He hadn't payed too close attention. The Lion sighed loudly, placing a paw on his shoulder and shaking his great mane with the strangest touch of sympathy. "You will learn, son of Adam. In the next few days, you will remember who you are. You will remember that which is truly valuable. I will repeat the signs to you. I will stay with you until you learn them well. The first sign is this..."


	3. Chapter 3

Flynn raced back through the forest as fast as he could go. It's not that the Lion was even following him, but it seemed like He was watching him anyway. Maybe it was just that nyad giggling every once in a while. He hated to admit that without her he wouldn't have found his way. He wanted to get back to the real world, and yet, there was something drawing him to this place. Even though he couldn't admit to an honest attempt to rescue some princess and bring her back to this dream land, the signs were still rushing through his head. Why? The Lion's words just kept coming back to him: remember, son of Adam. Remember these words. Yes, he would remember the signs, but what did they mean? Flynn guessed that he would find out- if he ever came back. Once he stepped back through into...okay, into the girl's closet, he had no reason to go back. How was this talking Lion going to get him back, huh? There were the pine trees - and a lampost that he had never noticed before. He almost ran into it.

"I will be here to guide you back, young prince." The dryad giggled. Flynn started at the sound of her voice and then he just smirked. As if he was coming back!

"Alright, yes. You do that." She would be waiting there a long time if he had anything to do with it. She smiled back at him and he ducked into the trees, shaking his head at them. He had been both terrified and awed by the Lion, but now that he was away from him - actually, he felt guilty. Really guilty that he intended to break a promise. No. He thought to himself. I'm not breaking a promise. I'm just postponing it. He knew that it was a lie to try and satiate a wounded conscience that suddenly seemed stronger than it had in ages. Dresses. He was feeling dresses now. Flynn breathed a sigh of relief and sank down to the floor for a minute. That was a tragedy almost not averted! He sat idle for a while, picking a patch of some gunk off of his knee - he should probably wash his pants one of these days - and dusting the crumbs away. To his right, where Narnia had been, he could see only the dark of the closet, while to his left he could distinctly make out the edge of the closet door. He was safe - so long as he could get past that frying pan. Well, it was no use sitting any longer and waiting. He was pretty well rested up, even after that run in the morning. Good, he was almost-

"Rapunzel, we're done talking about this."

"But if you just-"

"Rapunzel."

"-trust me!"

"Rapunzel-"

"Oh, come on, mother."

"Rapunzel!"

"I know what I'm -"

"Enough with the lights, Rapunzel! You are not leaving this tower. Ever!" On the other side of the door Eugene flinched, and he wasn't even the one being scolded. Heck, she didn't even know that he was there. A sense crawling up his neck told him that was a good thing. Maybe that Lion knew more than Flynn had thought possible. But what should he do? He heard the quiet sound of fingers slipping down - not the wardrobe. She must have put a chair against the door. But he knew that sound, that feeling, all too well. The silent acceptance of defeat. Not because the figure in authority was right or just, but rather because they were feared so terribly. Flynn had stood up for himself before when he was still Eugene Fitzherbert and as a reward he had been beaten within a couple inches of his life. He wondered if this girl had ever been beaten or if it was this shouting and - guilt tripping? He heard the older woman's voice complain that she was now the bad guy. What was wrong with wanting to go to a festival in the kingdom? Why was this Rapunzel locked in a secluded tower... the Lion was sounding more and more right as Flynn listened to what was going on outside of his door - or her door or whatever.

"All I wanted to say, mother, is...I know what I want for my birthday now." She said apologetically, all of the enthusiasm gone from her voice - though there was something that Flynn didn't quite recognize.

"And what is that?"

"New paint? The paint made from the white shells you once brought me?"

"Well that was a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days time!" Eugene wondered if Rapunzel - who he assumed had been the one to knock him over the head with a frying pan - had some idea working through her head. Or he guessed maybe she actually did need more paint and really liked that kind.

"I just thought it was a better idea than the - stars." Stars? Eugene wondered what she could be talking about. The view of the stars was much better in the dark of the forest than it was in the towns. Something was dreadfully wrong here. He heard a sigh from the other woman, who said,

"You're sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I know that I'm safe as long as I'm here." The girl replied - a bit evasively, Eugene thought. He heard the older woman sigh, and then he heard things moving around, small things like fabric. Someone was moving, maybe packing up supplies for a three day journey? Flynn wondered at the lack of conversation, whether it was typical for these two to be silent, whether this Rapunzel was crying silently behind closed lips or if she was so used to being bitten back by her supposed mother that she didn't cry anymore. There was something wrong in this unseen picture, and if this girl, this princess, had never been anywhere but that tower, she would have no idea different. She probably supposed that this was the normal way for mothers to treat their daughters.

"I'll be back in three days time." The voice of the older woman startled him almost so that he nearly fell against the doors but saved himself just in time.

"I love you very much, dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most." He heard the exchange. He grimaced at the sound of the mother's voice. He had heard too many people speak to others like that in his time. It was cruel and manipulative, and they like this girl had no idea what their predator was doing. He could hear a weird sliding noise, almost like someone was using a rope to descend the tower, but the sound was not quite right for that. Flynn tried again to see through the crack, but he only got a vague outline of what he assumed was the girl standing by the window. Her hand dropped to her sides and she sighed as if she'd just dropped a great weight before raising a hand to wave good-bye. Then suddenly she was racing straight toward the wardrobe! Once again Eugene stopped himself from making any sort of noise that would call attention to himself - but she knew that he was there. Great. What she he do? What? Should he stand there? Pretend to be unconscious? Sit in front of the doors and wait for her to open them? No, nix on the last one. He had no intent to give the poor thing a heart attack. He finally decided to lean against the wall, rubbing his forehead with one hand. As luck would have it, that is the exact moment that he heard the almost rope sound again and the doors creaked open.

That's when he saw her. A bit shorter than average, perhaps. Her eyes large, light colored but hard to tell exact shade in this light. But right off the thing that almost consumed her, whoever she truly was, was the yards and yards of bright gold that started at her head and then surrounded her and everything else in sight. She gasped sharply and hid behind her frying pan. That's what he had been hit with. She clearly had not realized how spry or wakeful he would be. She was too flustered to speak. Flynn cleared his throat and glanced over the room again. Okay, alright, she was a princess. A stolen princess, one who had never ever seen a - man. God knew what stories she had been told about a world that she was never allowed to see.

"I - I'm sorry." He started out. The girl looked rather surprised at having a conversation open with an apology. Flynn suddenly realized that she'd likely never had a real apology spoken to her in her life. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just - well, I woke up in a closet, and I just - why does my hand hurt?"

"I - I may have shut it in the door...who are you? How did you find me?"

"I'm - I'm-" suddenly, for the first time in his life, neither Flynn Rider nor Eugene Fitzherbert knew what he should say. The reply that was quick on his lips for so many years now was the cocky, self important air of Flynn Rider. But the Lion had seen right through that. He knew exactly who he was. At this point, Flynn honestly had no plans to really change who he was, but not really, he didn't think. But there was something that made him feel almost - guilty about using his thief's name.

"Flynn Rider." He finally blurted out, not at all the suave delivery with his trademark charm. "Ugh, how's you're day going, huh?" He asked, clearing his throat and trying to get back on track.

"Wh-who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?" Unfortunately, she appeared to be gaining confidence. He couldn't tell for sure, but it wouldn't have surprised him if she had intended to tie him up - maybe even with that ridiculous long hair, he joked to himself.

"Okay. Listen, Blondie - "

"It's Rapunzel."

"Gesundheit." He replied quickly, pushing off of the closet wall and making as if to step toward her. She scowled at him and leveled that pan at his head, making him stop at least for a little while. "Look," he started to explain, holding his hands out before him to illustrate. "I was in this situation, gallivanting through the forest..." And 'forest' was as far as he got before he trailed of. There was a great Lion waiting for him in that forest, a forest with naiads and dryads and much more mythological creatures. Of that he was certain, and it was - calling him back to it.

"Well?" She demanded. Flynn turned to look back into the closet. If he could only convince himself that it had all been a delusion then he could just move on with his scheme: get the crown and get out of there. "What are you looking at?" She asked him, her curiosity piqued by his strange behavior. Flynn turned back quickly, a half guilty expression on his face. "You came through the forest, why did you come up here?"

"To - to get away." He found himself speaking in strangely quiet tones. "I came across you clo- tower and th... Ho. Oh no. Where is my satchel?" He demanded suddenly, looking about the room.

"What on earth did you see in my closet?"

"Clothes?" He offered.

"Well, you seem pretty ruffled for a person who has just seen a closet full of clothes. Especially since I don't have that many." Maybe she was wrong, though. This was the first man that she had ever seen. Maybe they all acted this way.

"Yeah, um, well this has all been fun, but I really want my satchel."

"I've hidden it."

"What, really?" He quizzed, gliding out of the closet at an easy gait. He expected her to kind of melt when he did that, but on the contrary she gave him a strange look and then her face hardened.

"Somewhere that you will never find it." She added with determination. He replied by cocking his eyebrows and inclining his head, all the while walking closer and closer to her. Finally he stopped with his face mere inches from hers.

"It's in that pot, isn't it?" He inquired with a cocky grin. The girl turned around, looking immediately to the pot that he had indicated. Clearly that was the case.

The next thing he knew, his smolder was on the floor along with the rest of him and he thought that he had heard the end snatches of a song, though he couldn't be certain. Either way, his head didn't hurt (rather a relief) and he couldn't move his arms. Wait! He couldn't move at all! His eyes flashed open and he saw immediately that he was wrapped all the way around in the yards of golden hair. How on earth could she have done that?

"Well now it's hidden where you'll never find it." She reopened the conversation. Flynn groaned and turned his face down to the floor, rapping his head against it. Why couldn't he fool this girl? "So, what do you want with my hair?"

"With your hair?"

"Do you plan to cut it?"

"What?"

"Or sell it?"

"Wha? No! Listen, Blondie. The only thing that I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! Literally!"

"Uh - wait. You don't want my hair?"

"Why on earth would I want your hair? Look. I was being chased. I saw a tower. I climbed it. End of story-" but he stopped short. That wasn't the end of the story and he knew it.

"Flynn Rider, you are the strangest man I have ever met! Actually the only man, but you behave so strangely."

"Huh? No, not me!"

"Not you? You keep thinking of something else, and I keep thinking that it has something to do with my closet."

"You're closet! No! Where on earth would you get an idea like that?"

"Because you kept mumbling about woods, and a Lion, and my closet, and something about a girl and signs. I'm not stupid, Flynn Rider. I may never have been outside of my tower, but I am not entirely stupid. What is it all about?" Flynn swallowed hard. He was afraid to go back through the wardrobe and again afraid not to.

"You know, you were awfully worried about seeing some floating lights or other. I over heard you talking to your mother."

"Mother. Yes. And you're right. I do want to see the floating lights, but there is something strange about this whole wardrobe business, Flynn. Mother hides things from me all of the time. I can tell that you're trying to hide something too."

"Well I -" he stammered.

"Are there ruffians and thugs there too?" She asked cautiously, innocently. Flynn looked utterly confused for a moment. What was up with her?

"I imagine." He answered slowly. Rapunzel stood still for quite a while. She appeared to be thinking.

"But it's not - not the same as the world outside of my window?"

"Do you often see - lions?" He was about to say 'talking lions' but pulled himself up short just in time.

"Lions?" She asked in surprise. "No, never. They only live in a place somewhere called Africa."

"But it's - there is a Lion there."

"Was it frightening? I read that they are fierce, the king of the jungle."

"There is no jungle. Africa is not in your closet. But there was definitely a lion in there."

"You know, I think that maybe you're just crazy." She chuckled.

"I am not!" Flynn retorted. Then he kicked himself. He should have used it when she said it to get him out of this mess, but there was no way that she would believe him now, not after so vehement a reply as that! But...could he still act crazy? Oh, geeze, this was ridiculous! "Will you just let me go?" He shouted at her. She startled and jumped back a few inches. She was used to her 'mother' shouting at her. She was not used to even the sight of a man, let alone how loud his voice was when he shouted at her. Flynn was sorry, actually sorry, that he had yelled at her. "I - I'm sorry, Blondie." He said gently. His raising in the orphanage came rushing back upon him. The shouting, the cursing, the beating - but the shouting was always the most grating. Didn't matter whether or not he had done something. It never did. Now he had done the same thing to a young, frightened girl. " I didn't mean to shout at you. I'm sorry. "

"That's - that's alright." She answered in the voice of someone who had never been apologized to in her life. There was real amazement in her voice that someone besides herself could possibly need to apologize. "I - I wasn't really scared. I was startled." Eugene sighed and tried to push his hand through his hair, but her hair was still holding both of his hands down. Of all people, why him? And why her?

"It's just, well, I don't like being shouted at either." He admitted. "I had too much of that growing up and - that's just not something that I want to be."

"What do you want to be?"

"Woah, we are not talking about me, Blondie."

"What were we talking about?"

"Floating lights." He offered, trying desperately to get her mind off of the wardrobe.

"No." Rapunzel mused, her mind back tracking the conversation. "You were insisting that there is a Lion in my closet."

"That would be a really weird thing for me to say, wouldn't it?" Flynn swallowed.

"I know. Downright crazy."

"Well, then-"

"That's why I have to go there, Flynn."

"Wait, what are you even talking about?"

"I told you, mother hides things from me all of the time, and I pretend not to notice. But with you I can be honest. You are - so much different from mother and what she said that other people would be like. So much different from mother." she repeated to herself. His heart kept hurting for her and softening every time that she spoke. The Eugene Fitzherbert so long buried was looking out with hope while Flynn Rider was hanging on with dread to what he thought that he wanted.

"Why would you want to go to a land that I'm not even sure actually exists?" He said, tilting his head to one side and cocking his eyebrow questioningly.

"If it isn't there then what do you have to be afraid of?" She said with an attitude of her own.

"Touché." He half muttered. He wasn't used to dealing with people just as smart as he was as one could tell by his current companions.

"Besides," she added, " Flynn, I've lived my whole life in this tower. My whole life! If there is some fairy tale land hidden in my wardrobe, how will that seem any different to me than a world outside my window that I've never seen?" Flynn just lay there staring at her for more than a few minutes, his face hardly changing from an annoyed scowl because he couldn't use touché twice in a row without sounding like an uneducated idiot.

"Well, what if I do take you? What about your precious floating lights? Won't you miss them?"

"They'll be here when I get back."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"No you don't. Don't be an idiot."

"I am not an idiot, Flynn Rider." She practically shouted at him. He bit his tongue again because her lips were trembling. He was acting too much like that other woman.

"Fine, I know. I'm sorry. But you have no idea who's long you'll be stuck in there once you stick your nose into it."

"I'll just have to let it be what it is." She said softly and shrugged his thin shoulders. "But I know that they will be waiting for me."

"But, Blondie, how can you be so sure of something like that?"

"I can." She whispered. "It's my dream. This wardrobe has to be someone else's, but someone is calling my name. Flynn, take me through there."

"What?"

"My closet! I've seen the trees outside of my tower for so long, I know what they look like, but if there is some land inside of my closet, with a talking Lion, and...and it sounds like he was talking about me, Flynn. Why was he talking about me?"

"But...I - it's a closet, Blondie."

"Well then, you don't have anything to be afraid of, do you?" She put it to him. He quickly blushed. What was wrong? He never blushed! He didn't want to go in there. In there was really the last place on earth that he wanted to go, but he couldn't dissuade her. He would have had an easier time of it going against the king's men, none of whom were known for their smarts.

"Really, Blondie, the lanterns are a far safer bet for your first run out of your tower." He said suavely, but she locked eyes that were bright with determination to his own. She could not tell everything that she read in those dark, beautiful eyes, but she could see one thing that may well goad him into taking her.

"You are afraid!" She said loudly in triumph. "You're afraid to go back there!"

"I am not!"

"But why? You mumbled about the lion talking to you. You weren't afraid of him, or at least, you weren't afraid that he would eat you. What would possibly scare you more than that?"

"I'm not afraid, Blondie! Why don't you give me my satchel and just go in by yourself?"

"Because I've never seen another human besides mother. I-I don't know how to talk to people."

"Well, your mother is human, isn't she?" He asked, cringing decisively when he said the word 'mother'. The Lion told him that she wasn't this girl's real mother. Given the sound of the voice that he had heard from behind the closet doors, this had not been a fair question.

"I suppose." Rapunzel answered timidly.

"And you're talking to me right now, aren't you, Blondie?"

"Yes."

"Well there you have it! To talk to people, you do just that. Talk!"

"No."

"What?"

"You are not talking your way out, Flynn Rider. I'm tired of singing at the walls and having only a chameleon for my best friend - no offense, Pascal. I want to something outside of this valley. I want there to be more to my world than magic hair, though maybe all of the other girls live in towers. How would I know?" Eugene was taken aback by this. No wonder she had been so willing to accept a tail of lions and woods in a closet. She was cooped up in a tower and she was crazy. She was even talking to her frog and...he must be loosing it already, because he could have sworn that it had shrugged when she had talked to it.

"Listen, I really have to go." He insisted, struggling against her hair once more. "Just give me my satchel, and-"

"No."

"Look, kid-" he started grumbling in frustration when a familiar, grating voice sounded from outside.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

It was mother.

"Closet. Now." Rapunzel whispered. "If she finds you here, I - I think she'll kill you."

"No! I have to get out of here!" He hissed angrily at her.

"You are taking me through that wardrobe!"

"Rapunzel?" The voice nagged from far below - though it sounded hurried, maybe even frightened this time.

"Hurry!" She said, untying Flynn with only a few flicks of her hair. "She told me that my hair was the only way up, but I'm sure that she has some other path!"

"No way in h-"

Son of Adam! Flynn heard the deep toned voice from deep in his soul.

"Look, Blondie," he tried to ignore the voice, "She's not out front any more. Let me down."

"No!" Rapunzel shouted in a whisper. Geeze. She was just as strong willed as he was, probably more so. But he did not not want to go back. He was so afraid - SON OF ADAM the voice sounded again, strong and insistent.

"Hurry!" He finally said, racing for the closet. He jumped in just as they heard a thumping on the floor. He reached out to take Rapunzel's hand in his and together (with her chameleon hidden under her hair) they dove in.


End file.
